An April 3 story by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists relied mostly on sheer man-hours to analyze millions of files and expose the extent of offshore banking in the modern world.

Reporters from more than 30 media organizations used "high-tech data crunching" to analyze the files, which span more than 30 years and implicate a number of high-ranking international officials. While it's not clear what the writers meant by such vague terms, it's safe to assume they used some forms of spreadsheet software, as well as data analysis tools like Microsoft Access once the data had been collected.

The story incorporates a number of multimedia features, including graphics, maps, and videos, to broaden the audience's knowledge on the subject. One map shows key players in the offshore banking scheme around the world. Another graphic takes one man, Gunter Sachs, and details how he set up his bank accounts to avoid taxation and regulation for years.

The kind of reporting this story represents is incredibly important. It serves journalism's goal of monitoring the powerful members of society. Frankly, though, it's heady stuff - complex and hard to understand, even when you really sit down and think it over. The multimedia aspects of the story do a wonderful job summarizing the information into digestible components.

The U.S. economy expanded in the first three months of the year, news sources reported, though it fell short of analysts' projections.

Strong consumer spending helped the economy grow at an annualized rate of 2.5%, the BBC reported. That spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the nation's economic activity, grew at its fastest rate since 2010.

But a sharp decline in government spending, brought on in part by automatic budget cuts known as the sequester, kept overall growth from meeting expectations, the Washington Post reported. With no end to the sequester in sight, economists expect growth in the next quarter to fall somewhere between 1 and 2 percent.

"With fiscal tightening weighing on the spring and summer quarters, we expect weaker growth ahead," said economist Ian Shepherdson in a note to clients. "We have seen good quarters before, but what counts is sustainability, and on that score we are deeply unconvinced."

Fire crews and emergency personnel were called to the scene, where Koda Energy and Rahr Malting operate a joint venture, the Star Tribune reported. The city posted a notice on its website advising all residents within a 1-mile radius of the blast to stay indoors.

A Scott County spokesperson said no one was injured in the blast, Patch reported. The seven employees present at the time of the blast were safely evacuated.

Roads have since been reopened, MPR reported. The city of Shakopee has given the all-clear.

The Tweet, which claimed two explosions had occurred in the White House and that Barack Obama had been injured, caused the Dow Jones industrial average to drop about 1 percent before bouncing back, NPR reported.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the president was unharmed, the AP reported. All of the news organization's official Twitter accounts have been suspended in light of the incident.

Both the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating the hacking, Reuters reported.

An anonymous White House official said the explosions were being treated as an act of terrorism, the Associated Press reported. President Obama said those responsible for the blasts will "feel the weight of justice."